


Taste the Rainbow

by OrangeRaven989



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alcohol, F/F, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, Getting Together, Mentioned Mercedes von Martritz, Minor Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Pre-Relationship, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26756494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrangeRaven989/pseuds/OrangeRaven989
Summary: Annette met Constance through their mutual friend, Mercedes, and became so enthralled by her magical abilities that she asked to have private magic lessons. Then the war started.Now Annette is back at the monastery and yearns for a cup of rainbow tea with her old crush.
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic/Constance von Nuvelle
Kudos: 9





	Taste the Rainbow

**Author's Note:**

> Serving up some food for a starved rarepair.

It felt like things could never be _normal_ again. Five years of war had the tendency to beat the optimism out of you in that way. But there were things Annette would think about as she cowered in her home in Fhirdiad with her mother, hoping and praying for the soldiers to march by without causing any trouble—things from the old days, the days at the monastery and even before that, at the School of Sorcery, that she clung to in those dark times. But even returning to the monastery, surrounded by her old classmates, didn’t bring back the feeling of _normal_. She was afraid it was gone forever.

She hadn’t been back long—she missed the Millennium Festival reunion by a day, and by the sound of it, Claude and the Professor had a hell of a time clearing the bandits out of the grounds. Some of her fellow recruits arrived even after she did. Honestly, she was surprised Linhardt and Bernadetta even showed up at all. But the sight of them made her smile and gave her just that tiny little glimmer of hope that things might, at the very least, _feel_ normal. That quickly evaporated when Claude began talk of using the monastery as a base of operations for an anti-Imperial strike force.

Yes, she would gladly fight for an end to the horror she’d been living through for the past half-decade. But it was far from normal.

She lay in her bed at night, the world around her quiet. There were so few people at the monastery anymore. Back in the old days there was always noise at night—students misbehaving, chatter outside her window, wyverns out on the hunt, all kinds of things. But now it was silent, and she hated it. The silence unsettled her more than anything.

She shivered. What she wouldn’t give for a nice cup of tea to soothe her spirits. The dining hall was closed, so unless she wanted to sneak into the kitchen she was out of luck. But the thought reminded her of one of the memories she liked to revisit in the dark times. A memory of her and Mercie, and the childhood friend Mercie had introduced her to. She never knew about Abyss until about halfway through the school year, but apparently someone Mercie knew from her childhood (and an alum of the School of Sorcery, no less) had taken up residence there. And when Mercie offered to introduce her to said childhood friend, Annette was more than happy to oblige.

Their tea parties, though few, were some of her fondest memories. She smiled, thinking back. Constance von Nuvelle, a sorceress from the Empire, who lost everything when her house was dismantled in retribution for trying to wrest authoritarian rule away from the Emperor. Annette didn’t know much about the Insurrection of the Seven, but she knew it affected not just Constance but also Lysithea, causing both of them great suffering. But that suffering seemed to drive her to be a better sorceress, and whenever they had their tea parties she made sure to show off her talents.

At first Annette was simply delighted to see magic used in such creative ways. But it didn’t take long for her to get curious, and one day she flat-out begged Constance to teach her all she knew. She blushed and squeezed her eyes shut. Thinking about those magic lessons, which so often felt like she was breaking monastery rules, made her heart flutter still. Learning to make a cup of tea every color of the rainbow was just the beginning.

She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling of her room. Hilda was up above her—if she strained enough she could hear the sounds of her voice through the wooden boards. Talking with someone—probably Marianne, the most open secret in the monastery—and enjoying some semblance of normalcy. Part of her felt a bit jealous. The other part wondered if Abyss was still there after all this time, and if she might crawl out of bed, stumble down there, and find Constance alive and well and willing to brew her a cup of rainbow tea.

She sat up. It was unlikely, sure, and not only was it dark outside but it was also dark in Abyss. Constance was from the Empire. She almost certainly went back after the evacuation, allied with Edelgard in exchange for the restoration of her house, and would likely show up on the opposite side of the battlefield someday as Claude and the Professor launched their counter-attack. Going out and wandering the monastery grounds at night and poking around in Abyss was a recipe for disaster. Especially since it would likely end in disappointment. But then the floor above her began to creak and she could distinctly make out the sounds of Hilda moaning, so she quickly got up and hurried out of her room.

It was cold but not colder than she was used to. Five years in Fhirdiad, plus the few years she spent at the School of Sorcery, attuned her to the cold well enough. And Dominic territory was cold, just like the vast majority of Faerghus. Garreg Mach barely even got brisk by comparison. She smirked, remembering when the students from the Empire first felt the chills of the Wyvern Moon and complained. She and Mercie laughed and laughed. Sylvain nearly pissed himself. She shuddered, wondering what he was doing now.

Still, she drew her shawl tight and glanced around her as she walked. She was twenty-two years old now, nearing her twenty-third birthday, and yet she still felt the need to look over her shoulder at night to watch for ghosts. Her. Annette Fantine Dominic. Sorceress who could probably obliterate a ghost with a single fireball. But that didn’t matter. Leonie could simply squish a bug with her shoe but the sight of a centipede still sent her reeling. Such feelings were damn near universal.

She reached the hidden passage that led to Abyss and pressed on, casting a fire spell to light the way. Holding the small burning ball of light, she watched as the shadows flickered on the walls around her. It was familiar yet different. The passage was the same as it had always been, but there was a feeling of dread that crept up her spine the whole way. As if she expected to find a pile of corpses where the underground community once was.

She wondered what they all did after the evacuation. Did they even leave? Or did they stick it out here in the hopes that everything would blow over? Had the bandits found their way down here? The more she thought about the possibilities, the more she became convinced that she was descending into a crypt and would almost certainly not make it back out alive. She actually froze for a few moments halfway down the final staircase. But then she heard the low mumble of voices and swallowed her fear and pushed on the final way.

Stepping out into the room she was greeted with the same familiar torchlight she remembered from the old days. People were stumbling around near a door off in the distance, and she remembered that there was a tavern down here. Immediately all of her fears vanished. This place was… almost normal. Fewer people than she remembered, but there was a lot of that going around. She stepped forward and the guard looked her way, a wary expression on his face. He spoke.

“You from up above?”

She nodded. “I came to see an old friend.”

He grunted. “Dunno who you think you know down here, but most of these people don’t got nobody up there looking for ‘em.” He narrowed his eyes. “You sure you’re in the right place?”

“Yeah, I am,” she replied with a warm smile. “Though, can you tell me if the old Ashen Wolves class is still here?”

At that he chuckled. “Ah, I get it,” he said. “Damn, that takes me back. Didn’t think anyone from the Academy was still here.”

“We just got back,” she said. “It’s… been a while. Just thought I’d check in.”

He nodded. “Good luck,” he said. “Savage Mockingbird’s been around lately. Not sure who else.”

She proceeded onward toward the old classrooms, and all at once that familiarity crashed into her. The halls were familiar. The lighting was familiar. Even the way her footsteps echoed was familiar. She proceeded past the makeshift classroom and turned a corner, then proceeded onward until she found the dormitories. For a moment she hesitated, wondering if maybe it was too late at night for anyone to still be awake. Then she remembered that Constance was a night owl, and also that a war was raging and almost everyone she knew was too traumatized to be able to sleep anyway. So it was worth a shot.

She knocked, lightly, just in case anyone in the room really was asleep. There was no answer for a long moment, but just as she raised her fist to knock once again the door opened. For a moment Annette didn’t recognize the person on the other side. But then she saw the hair. The hair that was both blonde and purple and that had so enraptured her when she first saw it, only to find out that its owner had created the spell to color it that way herself.

Annette’s eyes widened. “Constance?”

It took Constance a moment as well, but eventually she lit up. “Oh, goodness, is that you Annie?”

There was no mistaking that voice. So… musical. She was envious of that, too. “It is,” she said with a warm smile. “Oh, I’m so relieved. I was worried you might have left the monastery.”

Constance laughed, stepping outside and closing the door behind her. “I’ve got nowhere to go, Annie,” she said. “Lest you forget, my house is no more.” She turned back to look at the closed door. “None of us went anywhere. We’ve been too busy trying to defend the only home we have left.”

Annette nodded but said nothing. There was a deep understanding between them, and everyone else, really. Fighting to secure the one place you felt safe was as natural as breathing. So it made perfect sense. Her eyes took in the sight of the woman before her—hair much longer and curled into ringlets at the bottom, figure filled out slightly, cheekbones as high as ever. Absolutely stunning. She felt her cheeks turn pink.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said after a moment of silence. “A lot of our class just got back, and I was worried.”

Constance smiled. “How sweet of you,” she said. “It does my heart wonders to know you’re all right, too, Annie.” Her eyes brightened. “Now come, let us make haste!”

She set off at a trot down the hall toward the main plaza, beckoning for Annette to follow. Annette hurried to keep up.

“Where are we going?”

Constance kept walking. “We simply must celebrate this reunion with a drink!” Then she glanced over her shoulder. “You’re… old enough, right?”

Annette’s blush deepened. “Yes, of course! You’re just barely a year older than me, you know.”

Constance laughed to herself as they walked. “Apologies, you just always seemed so youthful, it’s easy to forget.”

Annette grumbled.

“But you’ve grown up a lot since I last saw you,” she continued. “Goodness, Annette, you’ve really become quite a fine young woman.”

Annette coughed obtrusively. “You… you’re still talking like you’re so much older than me.” She hesitated before adding, “And you’ve grown up a lot, too…”

At first she thought Constance didn’t hear her, but as she walked she glanced over and saw just the slightest shade of pink on her cheeks. It was funny—she hadn’t immediately found Constance attractive when they first met, probably because she was a childhood friend of one of her closest friends and she wasn’t even in that mindset. Then she was too enraptured by her talent with sorcery.

Then the private lessons began.

And even still, it was a slow burn. She hadn’t quite realized it was even a crush until just before the evacuation. She’d meant to say something during the next session, but then the Empire attacked and everyone fled for their lives. And that was it. And she had to sit with it in her head and heart for the next five years. It wasn’t full-on heartache, to be sure, since her feelings were still fairly shallow, but she did happen to think about her quite a bit. Wondering if she’d ever get to learn magic from her again.

But now here she was, traipsing through Abyss with a slightly older Constance whose appearance had _absolutely_ kept up with her, to the point that even looking in her direction made Annette’s cheeks burn. Still just a simple crush, of course, but… also an opportunity? A chance she never thought she’d get to see if that crush could go a little further?

She gulped. And now they were going to drink alcohol. The possibilities were there, certainly. She twiddled her thumbs just to give her hands something to do besides shake.

The tavern wasn’t very crowded, which was nice but unexpected. She’d always thought that the people of Abyss enjoyed their drink, but with fewer people around it was inevitable that the tavern would have trouble filling its seats. She distinctly remembered seeing the same man wobbling and swaying outside the tavern every single time she came down for magic lessons back in the day. He was nowhere to be found now.

What a grim world Fodlan had become.

They approached the counter and a seedy-looking man asked for their order. Annette hesitated. Normally she’d go for a cocktail with whiskey or vodka and some kind of spiced ginger mixer—common in northern parts of Faerghus—but something told her that she’d get laughed out of Abyss for such a request.

“Beer please,” she said, voice meek.

The barkeep laughed good-heartedly and shoved a frothy mug in her face, and she and Constance took their drinks to a table in the corner.

Constance watched as she took a careful sip of the beer and crinkled her nose. “You won’t find such luxuries down here,” she said, laughing. “We must make do with whatever we have available, after all.”

Annette nodded, taking another sip. “I guess it’s not so bad after you drink enough of it,” she replied.

Constance smiled. “That’s the spirit!”

They drank in silence for a few moments, Constance draining her glass just a bit quicker. Apparently she was used to the flavor. Annette winced at a twinge in her chest, realizing that her drinking partner must have spent a lot of time down here, probably by herself for much of it. Hopefully Hapi had occasion to join her.

“Shall I show you something?”

Annette snapped out of her reverie and glanced at Constance, whose smile was as wide as it always was when she was about to perform a party trick.

“Of course!” Annette replied. “I love seeing your magic!”

Constance squealed and held her hand out over the center of the table, looking like she was concentrating hard. Her hands began to glow, and after a short moment there was a flash and a puff of smoke and when Annette looked down the beer in her glass was every color of the rainbow. Annette clapped, her own smile stretching just as wide.

“Ooh, I missed this stuff,” she said. “It’s just like what you did with the tea!”

Constance laughed her haughty laugh. “Ah, but that’s where you’re mistaken!” she said. “You see, the spell to turn tea water into rainbows doesn’t work on alcohol. I had to re-engineer it from the ground up!”

Annette kept grinning, finding it impossible to tear her eyes away from Constance’s face. She always had that _aren’t you proud of me_ expression every time she showed off, and Annette understood that feeling better than anyone. It was the same expression she wore whenever she would master something from a textbook and run off to show Lysithea.

Constance tilted her head. “I hope you’ve been keeping up with your sorcery, Annie,” she added. “I’d love for you to show me a thing or two.”

Annette’s blush returned. “Actually… I was kind of hoping we could resume our private lessons,” she said. “I learned so much from you before, and I want to keep learning. You approach magic so much differently than anyone else. Whenever I trained with Lysithea it was all textbook, but with you…”

Constance tutted. “Oh, textbooks,” she said. “Magic is art. It’s meant to be something creative!”

Goddess, it was just like old times. As if the five years had suddenly vanished between now and the last time they’d spoke. Her excitement over learning new ways to think about magic was matched only by her excitement of having Constance back in her life. She finished her rainbow beer—which somehow managed to taste better, but maybe it was just in her head—and called for another.

Eventually she lost count of how many rainbows she’d consumed.

They stumbled back toward the dormitories, which seemed much, _much_ farther away than before, and Annette had to stop at _the spot_ to wait out a particularly nasty dizzy spell. She laughed, thinking of that guy from five years ago, and Constance gave her a look of bewilderment but she couldn’t explain or else she’d probably vomit. So she caught her breath and eventually they made it down the hall.

“Annie,” Constance said, swaying back and forth before steadying herself against the wall, “I am so happy you showed up here tonight.” She hiccupped. “I cannot wait to drink with you again.”

Annette waved her hands in front of her. “Wait, I thought we were going to do private magic lessons again, not…” She hesitated, waiting out another wave of… whatever. “Not drink.”

Constance laughed. “We can do both!” That smug smile returned. “I have quite a number of tricks involving alcohol!”

Annette snorted. “Like making it disappear?” Then she laughed so hard at her own joke she practically dry-heaved.

They inched closer to the dorm before stopping again and leaning against the wall. Annette was still catching her breath and letting out the occasional giggle. Constance just smiled warmly, face pink from the booze.

“This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” she said, voice low.

Annette looked up and caught her eye. “Me, too.” Her eyes lit up. “And I’m gonna work extra hard to come up with a spell that’ll leave you speechless!”

Constance nodded. “I look forward to it.”

They made it the rest of the way to the door. Annette waved and turned to leave, only to be stopped by Constance’s hand on her shoulder.

“Where are you going?”

Annette furrowed her brow. “Back to my room…”

“Unacceptable,” Constance retorted. “It is much too cold and you are much too drunk to make your way back there.”

“I’m not…” she began to protest, but a hiccup interrupted her. “Okay, fine. I’m drunk.” She chewed her lip. “So… you want me to stay here with you?”

Constance opened the door and beckoned her in. The room was dark, and there was a lump on the other bed that was most likely Hapi—she’d need to say hello to her, as well, once the morning came. Constance flopped onto her bed and pulled Annette down with her, giggling and wrapping her arms around her.

Annette flushed bright red, though in the dark it was probably impossible to see. But she snuggled in, unable to deny how cozy it was to be pressed up against… oh. Her eyes went wide. Oh Goddess. She was literally pressed up against her crush, in bed. It was a literal dream come true. With the kind of courage she could only get from enough alcohol, she nuzzled her face into Constance’s chest and wrapped her own arms around the… very soft body beside her. Yes, cozy was the perfect word.

But suddenly Constance jolted up. Annette caught her eye, panicking, hoping she hadn’t crossed some kind of line.

“I just thought of the best thing!” Constance said, probably with more volume than she intended. The lump that was Hapi stirred and rolled over.

“Huh?” Annette replied, voice hushed. She could practically see Constance’s face glowing.

“You should join House Nuvelle once I restore it!” Her eyes shimmered even in the darkness of the room. “Think of the strides we could make in the world of sorcery together!”

Annette was speechless for a moment. “Um, Constance…” she began.

“Hmm?”

“Wouldn’t… wouldn’t joining your house mean I’d have to marry you?”

Constance lay back down, pulling Annette with her once again. “You say that like it would be a bad thing, Annette!” she replied, still a little too loud given that someone else was sleeping in the same room. “Surely you understand our potential, do you not?”

“I…” Annette said, but had no words to follow. Did… did her crush really just drunkenly propose marriage to her? Surely it was the alcohol talking, but even still… something like that had to come from somewhere, right? Meaning that Constance maybe… had _some_ kind of romantic feelings for her? Maybe? She shivered. This was getting a little awkward, but also she didn’t hate it. She just… didn’t know what to say. And also the room was spinning.

But before she could even get any words out Constance hugged her tight and pressed her face up against Annette’s cheek.

“Oh, Annie, you’re so adorable when you’re flustered!”

Which only made her more flustered. But she had to respond. So she took a breath. “You’re… adorable, too,” she managed.

The only response she got was the soft sound of Constance snoring. Annette closed her eyes, a mixture of both embarrassment and relief washing over her, then tightened her embrace and pulled Constance in. She smelled sweet, like candy, but also like beer. It was a weird mix. But she was so warm and soft and Annette lost herself in the moment and dared to plant a kiss on the top of her head. Constance shifted, purring slightly, and nuzzled into Annette’s neck.

There was no getting out of this situation, Annette knew, so she just snuggled in with a drunken smile on her face and let sleep overtake her.

She awoke with a pounding headache to the sound of someone aggressively clearing their throat. Her eyes fluttered open and she winced at the sight of Hapi standing over them, arms crossed and a scowl on her face. Annette’s shifting caused Constance to rouse as well.

“Morning, lovebirds,” Hapi said, voice sharp. “Next time you guys want to have a cuddle session, do it in Annette’s room. Some of us need a good night’s sleep to keep the sighing in check.”

Before either of them could say—or deny—anything, Hapi turned and made her way out of the room. She stopped at the door and turned back.

“Oh, and welcome back, Annette,” she added, her expression softening. “I’m glad you’re okay.” The she left and closed the door and it was only the two of them.

Still embracing.

Annette’s heart raced. It was still so, so cozy. She didn’t want to let go. But Constance rolled over and lay by her side, pinching the bridge of her nose and squeezing her eyes shut. Annette’s own head felt like it would split in half, and there was a pulsing behind her eyes. She’d never really had a hangover before, but it certainly wasn’t pleasant.

The cold immediately got to her. She shuddered.

“Annie,” Constance croaked.

Annette looked over. She was wearing a pitiful expression, and the bags under her eyes were deep and pronounced.

“I may not be remembering things clearly, but… did I… ask you to marry me last night?”

Annette coughed out of nervousness but that only served to make her head throb. A tingle shot down her spine. “Um… maybe?”

Constance groaned. “You… um, didn’t accept, did you?”

“I’m pretty sure I was speechless…”

Constance didn’t say anything. Instead she massaged her temples and slowly tried to sit up. It looked like it took a lot of effort.

“I apologize for making you uncomfortable,” she said. “I may have… um… let my feelings slip out a bit.”

Annette felt her cheeks burn. She needed to say something, or else Constance might get the wrong idea. “You… didn’t,” she said. “Um…”

Constance turned and caught her eye, eyebrow raised.

“I wasn’t uncomfortable,” Annette continued. “I mean… it was a lot, obviously, but… I… okay.” She took a breath. “I, um, kind of… like you. So…”

“Oh,” Constance said, smiling weakly. “Well, that’s quite a relief. So we should start with a date, then?” She chuckled. “I suppose talk of you joining House Nuvelle can come later.”

Her blush deepened and her heart fluttered. “Uh, yeah.” She scratched her head. “A date would be a good start.”

“I know just the thing,” Constance replied. “Allow me to brew you a cup of coffee!”

Annette winced at the volume of her voice, but all the same she felt her entire body tingle with nerves and excitement. This was… real. Constance wanted to date her. To treat her to… she furrowed her brow.

“What’s coffee?”

Constance set her feet on the floor and stood, wobbly at first but then she steadied herself. She reached back, offering her hand to help Annette up. Annette took it.

“It’s the cure for that pounding headache you have,” she replied. “It’s a magic potion that can cure the sickness of having imbibed too much drink.”

Annette stood and found her balance, but she still found reason to cling to Constance for support anyway. She sighed—she could get used to this.

“So?” Constance said, grinning at her. “Would you care to have coffee with me?”

Annette returned the smile. “Only if you make it rainbow.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Find me on Twitter: [OrangeRaven989](https://twitter.com/OrangeRaven989)


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